Re: Semi-automatic update option?

Actually, I would prefer this wasn't implemented (see PS below) but if it
were, I am OK with Rony's restrictions and Greg's addition:

".... with an option (disabled by default) to automatically check for
updates once a week" - although I would make the time period a user
configurable number of days, weeks or even an option of whenever first
started on a day.

However, I don't think PWS should either display the URL to be able to
download it or offer to do so!  The user should just be informed that there
is a new version and then they can download it as they would normally using
whatever precautions they want/would normally use.

David

PS.  Personally, I use a free utility from the web called Webmon
(http://www.btinternet.com/~markwell/webmon/), where I set it up to go check
for changes at all the sites I am interested it.  I can use it to check
single sites or all and to specify the exact start & end strings of the
content to check i.e. latest version number of PWS!


-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of ronys
Sent: 15 September 2007 12:44
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Passwordsafe-devel] Semi-automatic update option?

Hi,

Users have been asking for an automatic update mechanism for PasswordSafe,
so I've begun thinking on how to implement it:

I've never liked applications that take the liberty of connecting a server
without asking me, to check for updates and who knows what else. So here's
how I'd go about it for PasswordSafe:

- The Help->About dialog would have a "check for update" button. This button
will initiate a connection (described in a minute) IF AND ONLY IF there's no
"open" database, that is, there's no sensitive data in the application's
memory. My main worry here is that an attacker can do a man-in-the-middle
attack and find some kind of exploit (e.g., buffer overflow) to access and
download sensitive data.

- The update button will open a hardcoded URL, something like
"https://passwordsafe.sf.net/latest.txt" This will have the version
information for the latest & greatest, and a URL for downloading it.

- I'm wondering if it's worth adding signature verification capability, so
that the downloaded version can be verified as authentic. On one hand, this
is easily subverted if the attacker replaces the victim's original version
with one that fakes the validity check, on the other hand, if the attacker
can do this, then the attacker can already do what he wants with the user's
data, so the validity check is the least of his worries...

I'd be very happy to get comments/criticism/suggestions on the above.

	Cheers,

		Rony


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